“Daniel.”
He acknowledged one of the local boys they hired on a part-time basis to help around the ranch.
“You here to see Ms. Danube?” The youth grinned when he nodded, and turned around to shout back into the room. “Hey, Ms. D, you got a hot date or something?”
Daniel gave the kid a thump on the head with his knuckles. “Be polite, or you’re mucking stalls all day long tomorrow.” He eased past the rest of the bodies exiting and stepped to the side of the door, searching for Beth.
She stood behind her desk, frozen into immobility as she stared back. The room quieted, and she shook herself, turning away to stuff papers into a folder. She kept her eyes averted. “Daniel. I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you.”
“If you answered your phone, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
She laughed, a snuffily sound that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. While she probably wouldn’t appreciate being told it, she was kinda cute when she was embarrassed.
Her upper body shifted as she took a deep breath before turning to face him. “I’m just not sure how this is going to work.”
“You changed your mind?” He spoke quietly, pulling the door shut behind him. She shook her head, and he let his satisfaction show in his grin. “Then we need to find a way to make it happen. Avoiding me isn’t going to do the trick.”
Her gaze flicked past him to the door. “You’re not planning anything here, are you?”
Oh damn. He hadn’t, but her expression made him change his mind. “You thinking about dirty things to do in a classroom, are you now?”
“Daniel—we can’t get caught.”
Oh yeah, she definitely had something on her mind he hadn’t expected. He paced back to the door and locked it, pulling down the blind to cover the only window into the room on the hall side. Second-story windows on the opposite wall? There was no way anyone could see in from that direction. He pivoted slowly on one heel to see she had the desk clutched so hard with both hands her knuckles were turning white.
“Boys’ bus gets home at four thirty, right?”
She nodded.
He stepped closer, his cock slowly rising to press against the zipper of his jeans. She watched him warily, a mix of anticipation and anxiety in her eyes. “What I’d like to do is strip your clothes off, lay you flat out on the surface of your desk and fuck you senseless.”
“Jesus, Daniel.” The words escaped in a whisper, her eyes huge.
He dropped a hand over his cock and rubbed, attempting to get the damn thing to stop aching so hard. He swore he heard blood thumping in the back of his brain.
“You enjoy dirty talk, don’t you?”
She breathed rapidly as he approached, the pulse in her neck drawing him like a magnet. “It makes me feel weak.”
He lifted her and sat her on the desk, spreading her knees carefully, the heavy brace surrounding her leg clunking on the wooden surface. He hated to see the contraption on her, a constant reminder of the pain she must have experienced. Must still experience. One step took him between her thighs, and the warmth of their bodies connected. She gave a little moan, and his dick jumped involuntarily. Fuck, this was going to kill him.
“You made me a list yet?”
“I…I started to. It’s at home.”
He lifted her chin and licked her lower lip. Sweetness flooded his system. Damn she tasted good. He nibbled on the pouting flesh and stole one swipe into her mouth with his tongue.
She shivered.
He leaned away enough to stare into her eyes. “You keep the list. If I do anything you don’t feel comfortable with, you just say no, and I’ll stop.”
“You don’t want to read it?” The tension in her torso decreased a notch, and he smiled. They were now in full-body contact, and she was relaxed against him, all warm and soft, her breasts nudging his chest.
“I don’t need to. If I miss anything you really want to try, I hope you’ll tell me in person.” He brushed their lips together, needing to taste her. Now that he knew where they’d end up, although not the when, he could enjoy and take his time.
She was a woman meant to be savoured, not gobbled in a rush.
If her heart beat any faster, she was going to fall over in a faint. The whole long masculine length of him pinned her in place, one hand on either side of her thighs as he leaned his torso against hers. The kiss he pressed to her lips was gentle, his tongue and lips moving over her like a placid breeze. She let herself stroke his chest, palms to the soft cotton of his shirt, the firm muscle underneath tempting her.
She checked her anxiety level. Nothing but a buzz of sexual desire ran through her veins, and she was so relieved. Beth drank in the sensation of power and passion mixing together in his touch.
Oh man, she was really going to do this. She wanted to. Needed to. It was another step in taking back control of her life. The life that had changed so subtly over the years she was still shocked she’d missed the signs of things going wrong. Her husband had made her feel incompetent and undesirable. The emotions Daniel raised were completely different.
He held her in place, his hips rocking slowly, the ridge of his cock branding her body as he dipped his tongue into the tender part of her ear. A shiver took her and he chuckled. “Miss Beth, you are making it very difficult to go slow.”
She didn’t want slow, not if fast meant she’d get to touch him sooner. She grasped his collar and pulled his lips back to hers, driving her tongue into his mouth and groaning as he rocked over her clit again.
They feasted on each other and time slipped away. Beth grew lightheaded, her limbs heavy. Blood pooled in her breasts, her sex, bringing with it an aching tingle of need. She wanted so much right now.
Daniel broke away and they both gasped for air. His eyes twinkled with mischief. “Sweet Lord, you’re making me drunk on kisses alone.” He held her cheek for a moment, brushing a thumb over her lower lip. “Hold still.”
One button at a time he slipped her blouse open, their hips in contact as he opened the fabric to reveal her skin, her bra. Her breasts showed through the thin fabric, nipples puckered tight.
“That a favourite?” He ran a finger along the edge of the lace. Lord, he must be able to feel her heart pounding.
“No. Why?” He kissed her cheek again, a brief chaste kiss before pulling away, reaching for something on her desk. When he held up a pair of scissors her throat went dry. “What…?”
“Trust me?”
She fought the tremor of terror inside. She was in a classroom, for heaven’s sake. He was a well-known and reputable man around town. Imagines of knife-wielding maniacs had no place in this fantasy.
“Yes,” she squeaked.
“I’ll buy you a new one.” He pulled the fabric from her body and slipped his hand between the elastic and her skin. Then he put the tip of the scissor against his fingers and snipped. Deliberately, carefully, he cut away the supporting fabric of the cup, leaving behind the bones of her bra. The swells of her breasts were completely bare, the underwires remaining for support. He put the scissors away, slowly closed the drawer and piled the shreds of fabric on the edge of her desk. Every one of his movements made her expectations rise by the second.
Then he sat in her chair, adjusted the height and rolled between her legs. He kissed her belly button before looking into her eyes with that dark, dangerous expression she was coming to recognize and anticipate. It stole her breath away. Leaning forward, he licked a line up her torso, tonguing the fabric under her right breast. Another lap took him higher, drawing a circle around the tingling peak of her nipple. He sucked the whole tip into his mouth, pulsing his lips, and a line of heat drove from his mouth through her body straight to her core.